Tapping into wisdom

And re-charging your curiosity and confidence

Last week, I asked the following in an Optionality open thread:

That second question about drawing boundaries about these asks might be one I was #askingforme.

In the replies

Joanna Bloor

asked, “Can't we come up with a better phrase than picking your brain?" And I agree it's not the greatest. The term I was tossing around in my brain this morning was "tap into your wisdom." Now, I just need to decide if that implies draining your brain (bad), or just getting a quick re-charge from it (good and even mutually energizing), because obviously I want it to be the latter...what do you all think?

Another funny thing I discovered in asking these questions lately is that some people know things and are asked to share wisdom about things that aren't based on their day jobs and that often they haven't turned into any kind of revenue stream. That's totally fine. One of our advisors,

Brandi Riley

just posted on LinkedIn that not every hobby has to become a job or revenue stream. Very true. But in an optionality-driven lifestyle it's wise to diversify your attention, your bandwidth, and your revenue streams.

This is top of mind because we launched a new Optionality Premium member benefit yesterday, a by-us-for-us program we call the WisdomExchange. We're piloting a marketplace of opportunities to meet with a fellow Premium member to learn a new skill, talk through a big decision, or get yourself pointed in the right direction with the right strategy for an idea you've had forever (and lots of other options too).

In addition to the opportunity for Premium members to tap into all this wisdom of their fellow members, there will be opportunity for Premium members to join our inaugural cohort of experts and offer their wisdom within the community. All while normalizing that this wisdom has tangible value (albeit at a great rate exclusive to the community).

While announcing this new program, we also announced that early adopter pricing will end September 3rd (the day after Labor Day), so if you’ve been on the fence about upgrading from a Public membership to a Premium one, now is the perfect time.

Want to know more? Here’s a FAQ about the program. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the Premium members offering their expertise. And here’s a reminder on our membership levels, so you see the WisdomExchange is just one of many benefits of Premium membership!

While pioneering the Creator Economy almost 20 years ago may seem very different from working on #TheNowOfWork,

Jory Des Jardins

and I see so many similarities in the effort to create new frameworks and new models for work, collaboration, and monetization within a community where all boats can truly rise. That's been our ethos for lo these couple of decades, and this is the next idea we have to bring it to life.

So, we come back to the question: What kind of wisdom do you have that people are eager to tap into? And how do you draw your boundaries around those asks?

In the most recent Conversationality,

Jory Des Jardins

and

Elisa Camahort Page

drew parallels between the evolution of education and the evolution of work. In both cases, those of us in leadership may have to let go of the way things were for us in order to make them work better for those who come after us. We’re not saying it’s easy. But in both cases, evolution is necessary! Check it out: